IU Columbus student research exhibition April 16 at Columbus Learning Center
April 9, 2024
The public is invited to IU Columbus on April 16, 2024, to learn about student research projects covering a wide variety of topics, including naturally occurring plastics, the opioid crises’ effect on the economy, how to support human trafficking survivors, and much more.
The Office of Student Research (OSR) will feature 15 projects from 20 students and 16 faculty members during its 14th annual exhibition, 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., at the Columbus Learning Center Student Commons.
“This year’s exhibition will be an exciting one; we will be highlighting the important work of bright, motivated and creative student researchers in concert with their accomplished faculty mentors,” said Chancellor's Professor Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, Ph.D., who has been leading the IU Columbus OSR since its inception.
Each student-faculty team received up to a $1,000 OSR grant to fund their project. To earn the grant, students submitted detailed project proposals, passed a rigorous vetting process by a review committee, and then completed their projects with direction and guidance from a faculty mentor.
Goodspeed-Chadwick added that OSR students benefit from working on long-term, meaningful research projects and building close working relationships with their professors. The process helps prepare students for success in their continuing studies and professional endeavors. Additionally, each student is honored at the IU Columbus annual Honors Convocation.
This year also marks the introduction of the OSR Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, Belonging (DEIJB) Award. Five of the OSR students presented brief presentations on how their research project furthered the IU Columbus core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging. The inaugural DEIJ Award winner will receive a framed certificate and $100; the winner will be announced on the IU Columbus newsroom the day of the April 16 exhibition.
The exhibition will be held at the Columbus Learning Center, 4555 Central Ave., and is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit iupuc.edu/osr or contact Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick at (812) 348.7270 or juligood@iu.edu.
2024 Office of Student Research projects
Project: Creative Approaches in Counseling Asian Americans
Description: To improve outcomes when counseling Asian American clients, this study gathered information from mental-health professionals working with Asian American clients using creative approaches that demonstrated positive results.
Student: Amanda Aird, Columbus
Faculty mentor: Debolina Ghosh, Ph.D.
Project: “This literature is not pushing any beliefs on anyone”: Pre-Service Teachers Lean on “Knowledge” as a Contributing Factor for Including LGBTQ+ Children’s Literature in K-6 Classrooms
Description:This study examined what factors impact pre-service teachers’ decisions for incorporating LGBTQ+ children’s literature in a K-6 classroom.
Student: Sophie Barrett, North Vernon
Faculty mentor: A’ame Joslin, Ph.D.
Project: VRetail: Bridging the Gap between Target and Amazon Go in the Metaverse
Description:This project uses the Amazon Go stores to incorporate a prototype virtual reality store for the Target Corporation. The goal was to learn how the internal and external analysis of the company can help create a better experience for customers in an Amazon Go type store.
Students:
David Blankman, Greenfield
Benjamin Fricke, Columbus
Jackie Mouser, Columbus
Angie Guzman Presenda, Columbus
Jason Stratton, Nashville
Sydni Young, Columbus
Faculty mentor: Kevin Jones, Ed.D.
Project: Using Chitin to 3D Print
Description:This project uses ground cicada shells to get chitin, an abundant material that has biocompatibility, to create 3D printed objects that were tested for durability and strength.
Students:Molly Brandes, Greensburg
Faculty Mentor: James Mendez, Ph.D.
Project: Relationships Throughout Life
Description: This study examines attachment through adolescence to parents and peers, its effect on relationship factors and on attachment through adulthood to parents and peers.
Student: Jazmine Castillo, Shelbyville
Faculty mentor: Kimdy Le, Ph.D.
Project:Stitching the Narrative: Domestic Craft as a Rebellion against Domestic Abuse
Description: This project examines personal narratives of domestic violence victims and considers how domestic craft plays a part in personal and literary narratives as a method of rebellion and even survival.
Student: Nevie Henderson, Seymour
Faculty mentor: Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, Ph.D.
Project:Josephine’s Clinic Fundraiser for Survivors of Human Trafficking and Violence
Description: The project focused on community outreach to raise donations for a mobile clinic fund for an organization that provides trauma-informed medical and mental health care to survivors of human trafficking and violence.
Student: Sierra Huffman, Greensburg
Faculty mentor: Scott Desmond, Ph.D.
Project: Opioid Destruction and its Economic Effects in the United States
Description: The study seeks to answer key questions regarding the economic impact of the opioid epidemic in Indiana and the United States.
Student: Siddhant Jain, Columbus
Faculty mentor: Ryan Brewer, Ph.D.
Project: The Effects of Vitamin E supplementation In-Vitro on Intracellular Peroxide levels and average life-span of HepG2 cells
Description: The student researcher will be supplementing human liver cells (HepG2) with varying concentrations of vitamin E and testing its effects on the levels of peroxide in the cell. This study attempts to discover the optimal concentration of vitamin E that leads to the lowest intracellular peroxide levels.
Student: Bryce Malan, Freetown
Faculty mentors: Sharon Bloch, Ph.D. and Barbara Hass Jacobus, Ph.D.
Project: The Effects of Guided Meditation on Teaching Stress and Burnout Levels
Description: This study compared stress and burnout levels of teachers who followed guided meditation twice a week for four weeks compared to teachers in a control group.
Student: Rachel Rucker, Franklin
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth daSilva, Ph.D.
Project: What Are the Legal Rights and Responsibilities Surrounding Teachers’ Religious Expression in the Classroom?
Description: The student researcher reviewed Indiana and federal legislation, as well as related and precedent-setting court cases regarding the legal rights and responsibilities surrounding teachers’ religious expression in the classroom.
Student: Kaitlyn Sprague, Columbus
Faculty mentor: Stephanie Serriere, Ph.D.
Project: Inquiry into English Teacher Professionalism
Description: This project consists of a literature review on the conceptions of teacher professionalism in the U.S. and China and around the world, and includes it preparing to develop and implement a shared inquiry project in collaboration with Beijing Normal University teacher candidates.
Student: Kirsten Van Winkle, Nineveh
Faculty mentor: Laura Liu, Ph.D.
Project: Investment Options for Individuals
Description: This project will help individuals formulate a plan for their personal investments.
Student: Armahn Vedadi, Columbus
Faculty mentor: William Haeberle
Project: Additive Manufacturing of Wind Turbine Blades Using Continuous Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites for Enhanced Performance
Description: For this project, the student researcher plans to 3D print a scaled wind turbine. The student researcher will use a fan to simulate wind that the turbine would see, and test factors like energy output.
Student: Brooks Wathen, DuPont
Faculty mentor: Mohammed Noor-A-Alam, Ph.D.
Project: Recruiting a Workforce in a New Industry: Where SpaceX and Blue Origin Found Their Leadership Team
Description: The student researcher and the faculty mentor want to discover where these companies recruited their employees, identify the working conditions experienced by employees, as well as the benefits and hardships of working at these aeronautic companies.
Student: Coltin Wetzel, Seymour
Faculty mentor: Jon Padfield, Ph.D.
